IU softball team opens season in Arizona at Kajikawa Classic

For the fourth consecutive season, the IU softball team will start its season in the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

The Hoosiers are set to play five games in a three-day stretch against Bradley, Portland State, Stanford, San Jose State and Cal Poly.

IU faced off against Bradley, Portland State and Stanford last season, but IU Coach Michelle Gardner said she doesn’t believe the previous meetings with those opponents will necessarily provide the team with an advantage.

“It’s a different year and it’s a different team,” Gardner said. “They may have some of their players from last season, but their lineups won’t be the same.”

Gardner said because the season is opening this weekend, it levels the playing field.
“They haven’t played games yet either,” she said. “It’s everyone’s first weekend out. I think anything can happen.”

IU senior pitcher Meaghan Murphy said she thinks the team is feeling confident heading into the first set of games of the season.

“We feel good,” Murphy said. “We’ve done some really good things in the preseason. We’ve been working hard and, although we haven’t been able to get outside to work as much as we’d like, we are doing some really good things on offense and defense.”

The first opponent on the Hoosiers’ schedule, the Bradley Braves, finished last season with a 23-29 record and fell to the Hoosiers 15-7.

Last year, IU senior infielder Breanna Saucedo led the team with three hits.

Shortly after the conclusion of the game against Bradley, the Hoosiers will take on the Portland State Vikings.

The Vikings finished the 2013 season with a 25-31 record, including a 7-0 loss to IU.
IU junior pitcher Lora Olson pitched all seven innings for the Hoosiers and allowed seven hits in the shutout.

The Hoosiers open Saturday with their second consecutive doubleheader, against the Stanford Cardinal and the San Jose State Spartans.

Stanford finished last year with a 39-21 record and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

One of the Cardinal’s victories was an 8-2 victory against the Hoosiers. In that game, the Cardinal pitching duo of Kelsey Stevens and Nyree White held IU to just six hits.
The team hasn’t forgotten the loss, said Murphy.

“Every time we play Stanford it’s a battle,” she said. “We always play them really tough.”

The Spartans, who finished last season with a 42-17 record, also made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament before losing a set of games to Arizona State and San Diego State in the opening weekend of the tournament.

San Jose State’s most productive hitter in last year’s lineup, junior outfielder Michelle Cox, is set to return after finishing last season with a .363 batting average.

IU concludes the Kajikawa Classic Sunday against the Cal Poly Mustangs.
The Mustangs finished 2013 with a 19-34-1 record.

The top three hitters from last year, junior utility player Jillian Andersen, junior infielder Kim Westlund and junior utility player Mariah Cochiolo, are all returning.

IU senior infielder Shelby Gogreve said the team is anxious to start the season.
“We are feeling great,” Gogreve said.

“We are excited to be out in the warm weather and to actually be playing.”

Follow reporter Dan Matney on Twitter @Dan_Matney